Gianforte to Regents: Pass transgender college sports policy following court block • Daily Montanan

Gov. Greg Gianforte penned a letter Wednesday asking the Board of Regents to restrict transgender youth from participating in university school sports after the Montana Supreme Court blocked the legislature from making such policy decisions.

“While I disagree with the Court’s analysis, it leaves open a path for the Board of Regents to enact policies to protect girls and women on Montana’s colleges and universities,” Gianforte said.

Gianforte requested the regents implement the policies in the blocked legislation in House Bill 112 stemming from the 2021 legislative session and “join him in calling on the National Collegiate Athletics Association to guarantee fair competition for women and girls in women’s sports.”

The NCAA implemented policies requiring transgender athletes document hormone levels in the last school year. A spokesperson for the Board of Regents said they are reviewing Gianforte’s request and anticipate an “ongoing discussion” on Title IX with the governor and stakeholders.

The governor’s letter is the latest effort to align Montana with a national right-wing push to exclude transgender students from participating in school sports. The American Medical Association has said efforts to regulate transgender athlete participation “have been largely incompatible with international human rights norms and standards.”

The Republican majority legislature passed during the 2021 legislative session House Bill 112, sponsored by then Rep. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, when Fuller served in the lower chamber.

Found to be unconstitutional, the bill, titled the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” tried to bar transgender women in K-12 public school students and in publicly funded higher education institutions from participating on female sports teams. The bill was one of dozens of similar bills across the country aimed at restricting transgender participation in sports.

The legislation in Montana saw opposition from organizations including the Montana Human Rights Network and the Montana ACLU. More than 200 women in collegiate sports signed a letter opposing the legislation, and 300 Montana businesses also signed a letter against the legislation.

Montana’s Supreme Court last month found the law unconstitutional as it applies to colleges and universities, saying policies for college athletics were under the authority of the regents, not the legislature.

In response, Gianforte called on the regents to implement the changes in the legislation.

“This misguided ruling from the Montana Supreme Court eliminates important protections for female athletes on our college and university campuses, allowing biological men to compete against them,” Gianforte said. “This is unacceptable.”

The governor asked regents to also join him in calling on the NCAA to establish policies similar to HB 112 and “guarantee fair competition for women and girls in women’s sports.”

The NCAA already has implemented policies for transgender athletes to document testosterone levels prior to championship selections, first announcing the change in 2022. Transgender athletes are required to document testosterone levels at the beginning of their season, six months after that, as well as four weeks before championship selections.

The NCAA oversees college-level championships and supports rule and policy creation for the 26 sports it lists on its website, including football, basketball and gymnastics. Montana State University and the University of Montana both have NCAA athletic programs.

The Montana University System sports comply with either NCAA regulations or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics regulation, depending on campus membership, as well as any athletic conference rules, as is laid out in a regents policy manual.

Gianforte told the regents not to let a “loud vocal minority dissuade you from doing the right thing for girls and young women.”

Spokesperson for the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education Leanne Kurtz said in an emailed statement Friday that Commissioner Clay Christian and the Board of Regents are reviewing Gianforte’s request.

“They are interested in working with the Governor to evaluate his request and how it might impact collegiate athletics,” Kurtz said. “We anticipate an ongoing discussion around Title IX with the Governor and other stakeholders. If it is scheduled for a future Board meeting, it will be posted with the agenda and properly noticed.”

The Board of Regents is an independent seven-member body that has full constitutional authority to oversee Montana’s public university system. Regents are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the senate.

Geneticist Dr. Eric Vilian, director of the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at Children’s National Health System, told National Public Radio last year there isn’t data to support arguments transgender athletes have an unfair advantage over their cisgender competitors.

Montana is one of four states suing the federal government on a recent update to Title IX that expanded protections against discrimination on the basis of sex to include gender identity and sexual orientation. The change is slated to take place next school year.